Biggs: 10 thoughts on Bears' win, playoff hopes
By Brad Biggs, Tribune reporter
9:16 a.m. CST, December 24, 2012
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Ten thoughts after the Chicago Bears kept their season and playoff hopes alive with a 28-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, putting talk of the future of coach Lovie Smith on hold.
1. Cornerback Tim Jennings said the Bears felt revitalized after the victory, which broke a three-game losing streak and gives them a shot to fight for a playoff spot this Sunday at Ford Field against the Lions.
“We feel like we have new life,” Jennings said. “We forgot what it felt like to be in the win column.”
But defensive lineman Israel Idonije dismissed the notion completely, approaching the team’s situation from a different perspective.
"You can’t get too focused on the big picture," Idonije said. "It’s one step at a time. We got this one. That was goal No. 1. Put it away. Focus is on No. 2.
“This game is what it is. We’re going to take the next couple days, relax and then put it behind you. We’re focused on Detroit.”
Had the Bears lost this game, they would have been eliminated from the postseason race, as the Vikings’ upset at Houston made it impossible for the Bears to slip into the playoffs at 9-7. Winning the game over the Cardinals kept the Bears alive, even though some had left them for dead after they lost five of the previous six games.
"Of course," Idonije said. “Welcome to football. Most people also were on the bandwagon early at 7-1. You can’t focus on that. You have to focus on the next step, the next step. Win or lose, you have to put it behind you and keep fighting. You focus on one outcome. That is beating Detroit. That is the only outcome that matters.”
I asked Idonije if he felt better about the Bears’ chances because they are relying on the Packers to win at Minnesota. After the Seahawks crushed the 49ers on Sunday night, Green Bay has motivation. A victory will secure the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs and give them a first-round bye. A loss and the Packers could slip to the No. 3 seed and play at home in the wild-card round.
Needing help from the Packers has got to be better than relying on some left-for-dead team like the Eagles to have to beat a high-quality opponent, right? The Packers, after all, are road favorites.
“Even in that situation, if we don’t go in and handle our business, it doesn’t matter,” Idonije said. “That is the No. 1 focus because Detroit is going to come ready to play. The focus has to be handle business against Detroit. Everything else is out of your control. You can’t think about anything else. Those two scenarios, the only thing you can affect is playing well against Detroit.”
Well, he could call Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wish him good luck, right?
“That’s not going to happen,” Idonije said.
Bears coach Lovie Smith said he’s fully invested as a Packers fan this week and pointed to the strength of the division with Minnesota playing better down the stretch than many expected. Right tackle Gabe Carimi hails from Wisconsin.
“I can allow my friends from back home to cheer for the Packers,” he said.
But the focus is firmly on Motown.
2. Remember back at midseason when comparisons were being drawn to the 1985 Bears or at least the 2001 Bears. The ’85 version will never be replicated. It can’t happen in the NFL these days. The ’01 version, which featured free safety Mike Brown scoring touchdowns in odd ways, was a talented football team that caught a few breaks, made a few breaks and was consistent until a playoff fade.
This current team certainly resembled ’01 with the explosion of return touchdowns earlier in the season. Things look brighter for the 2012 Bears after they defeated the Cardinals and got a big hand from the Ravens, who throttled the defending Super Bowl champion Giants, but this team could still be remembered as one of the biggest flops in franchise history and in the last couple decades in the NFL.
The 1996 Redskins are the only team in the current 12-team playoff format adopted in 1990 to begin a season 7-1 and fail to reach the playoffs. According to Cold Hard Football Facts, the 1988 Saints and 1987 Chargers are the only other teams since the 16-game schedule was adopted in 1978 to begin 7-1 and also miss the postseason.
"Our defense was a problem and we couldn’t stop people," said Charley Casserly, the general manager of that Redskins team and now an analyst for NFL Network. "That’s what it got down to. Our defensive weakness got exposed as the season went along."
The Redskins had the worst rushing defense in the league that season, allowing 2,275 yards (142.2 per game). They had an offense that clicked for coach Norv Turner as Terry Allen ran for 21 touchdowns and quarterback Gus Frerotte was somehow named to the Pro Bowl after passing for 3,453 yards and 12 touchdowns. But the defense couldn’t stop anyone, surrendering 266 rushing yards one week in a loss to the Buffalo Bills and 507 yards passing the next week in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Casserly wasn’t ready to give up on the Bears when he spoke about the two teams on Wednesday.
"The first thing is the season is not over yet, OK," he said. "The second thing is the six games they have lost have either been to playoff teams or teams that are in the playoff hunt. And they have beaten three teams, Dallas, Minnesota and Indianapolis, who are all in the playoff hunt with two weeks ago. So, the schedule has turned on them dramatically here in the last six weeks. They have played an awfully tough schedule and they’ve got some injuries. The defense, to me, is still good enough to be in the playoffs but obviously they would be better with (Brian) Urlacher and (Tim) Jennings in there."
Where Casserly’s club failed on defense, the Bears have mostly come up short on offense. But the Week 13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks stands out for defensive ineptitude as the Bears allowed rookie quarterback Russell Wilson to drive the 177 yards on his final two possessions to win the game in overtime.
"Offensively, I think it’s a combination of things for the Bears," Casserly said. "The offensive line has got some injuries now, compounding the fact that they probably were an average offensive line to begin with. (Michael) Bush not being in the mix, that hurts them. The time they missed (Alshon) Jeffery, that hurt them. They really need a No. 2 receiver and they really need speed. (Brandon) Marshall is an effective No. 1, he is a physical, power-type receiver. But they need speed to open it up."
Casserly’s point about a deep threat is well made. Perhaps the Bears have missed Johnny Knox, out for the season with a spinal cord injury, more than they ever imagined they could after acquiring Marshall.
While some believe Lovie Smith’s fate will be sealed if the Bears fail to reach the postseason, it should be noted that Turner returned in 1997 to coach the Redskins.
"There is no comparison between the two situations," Casserly said.
Turner was completing just his third season and the Redskins had climbed from three wins in 1994 to six in 1995. They were displaying incremental improvement and Turner made a change, firing defensive coordinator Ron Lynn and hiring Mike Nolan. Smith is completing his ninth season and the Bears have failed to reach the playoffs in four of the previous five seasons.
The Saints' coach in 1988 was Jim Mora and he also returned to his position the following season. New Orleans missed out on the playoffs at 10-6 and it was only Mora’s third season. For the Chargers, they finished 8-7 in 1987 (strike-shortened season) and Al Saunders returned the following season for what would be his third and final year in the position. This Chargers team had one thing in common with Turner’s flop: Lynn was the defensive coordinator. Bears running backs coach Tim Spencer was a starting fullback for San Diego in 1987.
3. In a must-win game at Arizona, the Bears were able to win handily despite a bad game from quarterback Jay Cutler. The talk has been about Cutler needing to carry the team as it makes a playoff push but he hasn’t played well. In his last six games, he has thrown six touchdowns and six interceptions while posting a passer rating above 77 only twice.
Cutler took ownership for the poor play – he completed only 12 of 26 passes for 146 yards and one touchdown. The plus was he did not turn the ball over.
“I had a lot of missed passes,” he said. “It wasn’t pretty. We had to make some plays and I thought the offensive line did a great job. I missed a lot of throws. Wish we had a few back but we got the win, which is the big part.”
Cutler threw what looked like a knuckleball over the middle at one point. His mechanics were all over the place. When he got outside of the pocket, he wasn’t urgent with his decision making. But if the Bears learned something, maybe it’s that the two-minute offense is something they should use more often. It was crisp. Leading 14-6 with 2:18 remaining in the first half, the Bears took over on their own 20-yard line and quickly moved down the field. Cutler hit Alshon Jeffery for a 35-yard gain. He involved Earl Bennett with his only target of the game – a 16-yard gain. He then got Marshall wide open in a mixup by the Cardinals for an 11-yard touchdown. Cutler didn’t lock onto Marshall in the two-minute drill and it was fluid.
“It’s faster. I can’t really give you a reason why we hit on those plays but we miss on others,” Cutler said. “It’s similar coverage but we just hit them.”
Perhaps it is something the Bears will take a closer look at this week as they prepare for the Lions.
4. The defense faces a potentially problematic situation after free safety Chris Conte left the game with a hamstring injury. Unless it’s very minor, Conte easily could be on the shelf for the remainder of the season. Players that rely on speed and movement can miss six weeks with a hamstring pull. We’re not suggesting this is the diagnosis for Conte, but it’s a difficult spot. After Craig Steltz was placed on injured reserve, Anthony Walters was left as the only remaining backup. Primarily a special teams player, he was forced to fill in and he’s been practicing as the backup at both safety positions. Walters was credited with two tackles on defense.
“It was a big opportunity,” said Walters, who made the team as an undrafted free agent from Delaware last season. “Once Craig went down, I knew that I had to be ready because every now and then, he would come in and spell Major (Wright) for a possession or whatever. So, I was talking to Major about it before the game and I was ready to go in at either spot. You never know if you will have to. Just so happened today I did.
“I am comfortable with it (if I am needed to start). We will have a whole week of practice for me to polish up some things. The biggest thing for me is I think the coaches are comfortable with it. That gives me more confidence that they believe in me. Because really when Craig went down they could have easily brought in a veteran and tried to play him at the third safety. But they didn’t and their confidence helps me a lot.”
It’s hard to say what the Bears will do if Conte is out or is placed on injured reserve. There isn’t a safety on the practice squad. Safety Jeremy Jones was with the team in Weeks 1 and 2 before he was waived. When he wasn’t re-signed to the practice squad, that sent a signal how the club felt about him. Veteran Chris Harris is available after being let go by the Jaguars. He knows the scheme inside and out but has limited range. As of late Sunday night, Harris had not heard from the Bears. One option could be using cornerback Zack Bowman as an emergency safety.
With any luck, maybe Conte will not be out long. But it’s rare to see players bounce back quickly from hamstring injuries.
5. Then there is the issue at running back with Matt Forte sidelined again with a right ankle injury. It’s the third time this season he’s had an issue with the right ankle. I asked him if there’s been any point since being hurt in Week 2 at Green Bay that he’s felt 100 percent.
“Yeah, before today,” Forte said. “I was feeling real good before the game today. We were running the ball well. You can’t really try to expect injuries or try to avoid them when you are out there playing because you never know where everyone is coming from. Sometimes when you’re in the pile, people fall down and land on you and stuff like that.”
That is what happened to Forte in this instance, and he was outfitted in a walking boot after the game. If he plays against the Lions, he will not be at 100 percent and that’s tough for the offense as he really got going with 88 yards on 12 carries.
“Great lanes out there today,” Forte said. “The offensive line did a great job. With running lanes like that you can make moves in the open field and get extra yards. It is unfortunate I had to leave the game but I felt like we were really starting to roll in the running game.”
Forte said the injury “is not the worst that I have ever felt but it is the third time. So, it’s just getting a little aggravating.” He said he will play against the Lions but it’s simply too early to tell. If he’s not available, Kahlil Bell will be thrust into a starting role as he was a year ago. You wonder, too, if the Bears will regret placing Michael Bush on injured reserve with a rib injury but we don’t know how bad his injury is. We do know the team thought he would be able to play against the Packers a week ago.
“It’s not something I am really going to worry about,” Bell said. “Just a week ago I didn’t have a team or a job. Just gonna try to get better, see what happens and whatever they ask me to do, I am going to go do to the best of my ability.”
He hasn’t played much football this season, and he was on the street when the Bears signed him, so it’s fair to wonder if stamina is an issue.
“Obviously, I don’t feel like I have been playing nearly all season but once I got in the swing of things, the groove of things, I felt like I was pretty good,” Bell said. “I felt like I was in pretty good form.”
6. With new injuries to contemplate, the hope will be that the Bears begin to heal up in other areas. Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher could test out his hamstring injury this week. He has not practiced since being injured in the Dec. 2 loss to Seattle but he was running on the field before the game.
“We are definitely thinking that way,” coach Lovie Smith said about a possible return. “I would just say he’s making a lot of improvement. We didn’t want him to let anyone see him running out there but I know he is feeling pretty good about where he is. If he’s ready to go, good. If not, Nick Roach is doing a great job.”
Defensive tackle Henry Melton could also be back. Melton missed his second consecutive game with a clavicle injury but he did practice on a limited basis during the week. There was concern he could make the injury worse and then be in a situation where he would miss the postseason. It’s all on the line, so maybe Melton returns.
7. There is good news for the offensive line of the Bears, at least in the estimation of one man. Brian Baldinger, the longtime NFL analyst and a former lineman for the Cowboys, Colts and Eagles, believes the Bears can rebuild the line on the fly. More importantly, he thinks it can be done without a series of first-round draft picks. He’s not saying ignore the draft to solve the issue, he’s saying be open minded about the process.
I broached the subject of the Bears' line before the game and Baldinger began laughing.
“It’s every year,” Baldinger said, who then proceeded to ask me a question. “What is the love affair with J’Marcus (Webb)? I know Tice loves him. Athletic, yeah.”
Webb played well the week before in the loss to the Packers at Soldier Field but he’s had other solid games before. He hasn’t put together a month of them though.
“It’s really about consistency,” Baldinger said. “You could play 65 good plays but if you give up a sack/fumble and you’ve had a holding call, you’ve had a bad day. That’s what it is about – not having any bad plays. It’s not about pancaking guys or taking Clay Matthews and pushing him over the pile. It’s about eliminating all bad plays. The fact is whether J’Marcus plays well or (Gabe) Carimi plays well or (Roberto) Garza is good, whatever it is, (Jay) Cutler doesn’t trust the line. That’s the worst part.
“Jay’s mechanics are horrible because he doesn’t trust they are going to hold up. So, he is already scrambling and running and the ball is all over the place and his mechanics just go to hell.”
The question I have been wondering lately and trying to pose to people like Baldinger is how long will the line be in the shop? How quickly can it be restored to a level where it’s middle of the road?
“With the right combination, it can be done in a year,” Baldinger said. “Just the right guys. I don’t know if Carimi is the guy. Obviously, he struggled at right tackle. I don’t think he is a left tackle. Maybe right tackle is where he belongs. He looks a little stiff in there. They had it going on a little bit. I thought (Chris) Spencer and (Roberto) Garza and (Lance) Louis, I thought it was starting to come a little bit and then they all kind of got hurt or whatever. I never think that it should be more than a year if you get the right people in there.
“(General manager Phil Emery) has got his work cut out for him. There was a guy in Philly, (former Eagles offensive line coach Juan Castillo). Juan always had a free-agent center. For 12 years, he never had a drafted center. He just developed them and they were all good players. You gotta work them. I mean work them like dogs. I just don’t think you have to go spend a bunch of first-round draft picks to fix it. But I do think you gotta have a work ethic. They have to be the hardest-working guys on the team. They can never have a free second during practice, every day. You’ve just got to drill them all day long. That’s what offensive linemen need.”
8. The last time the Bears reached the postseason they had one of the healthiest teams in the NFL. In 2010, they lost only 20 man starts to injuries. The only player to wind up on injured reserve was strong-side linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer, who was put down with a career-ending concussion issue after the season opener. Hillenmeyer accounted for 15 of the 20 lost starts and because he was a strong-side linebacker, he was only on the field about 55 percent of the time due to the sub package.
So far, the Bears have lost 21 man starts to injuries. It’s hardly like the issues the Packers have been put through but it has affected the Bears during the second half of the season and particularly in this stretch run. Here are the starts lost to injury:
Chris Spencer 2
Lance Louis 5 (season ending)
Jonathan Scott 1
Earl Bennett 2
Jay Cutler 1
Matt Forte 1
Henry Melton 2
Stephen Paea 1
Brian Urlacher 3
Geno Hayes 1
Tim Jennings 2
8. Fox cameras prominently showed middle linebacker Brian Urlacher congratulating teammates after the game’s first touchdown when Zack Bowman recovered a Beanie Wells fumble and lunged ahead one yard into the end zone.
The last time the Bears were in Arizona, Urlacher’s teammates were praising him for what will be the game that is atop his Hall of Fame resume when the day comes for that evaluation to be made. Urlacher has made hundreds of big plays in his career but he’s never been more dominant than he was during that Monday night game.
Press box statistics credited Urlacher with 19 tackles but in review of the game film by coaches, Urlacher was credited with 25 tackles, a career high and five more than he’s had in any other game. It’s worth reflecting on because it was such a classic effort.
“That was one of the best games I have ever seen,” said fellow linebacker Lance Briggs, who made 16 stops himself in the game. “It was incredible. That game is at the top. Even now, we talk about the game that stands out the most and that game will always be there. He was everywhere that the ball was. I’ve never seen anything like it since.”
Retired linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer also weighed in on the game.
“He ended up with 25 tackles and it wasn't just clean-up tackles,” Hillenmeyer said. “The dude was killing guys in the open field, making very tough plays looks easy back to back to back. Even (then-defensive coordinator Ron) Rivera commented to the whole defense that he's not sure he's ever seen a linebacker play a better half of football. Keep in mind who Rivera played with.
“But I'm still bitter that he got credit for that forced fumble (of Edgerrin James)," Hillenmeyer cracked. "I remain adamant that, at the very least we 'co-forced' that fumble that Peanut took to the house.”
Tillman recovered James’ fumble and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown that pulled the Bears within 23-17 midway through the fourth quarter.
9. Julius Peppers says he has played better games and not come away with the production he enjoyed Sunday, tying a career high with three sacks, the ninth time in his career he’s had a hat trick. But in a big game the defense got major production from its highest-paid player. That’s the way it needs to be. The Bears had 21 sacks in the first six games of the season but produced only 15 in the previous eight. With four sacks in this game (Israel Idonije had one) perhaps the pass rush is back on track.
“Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t,” Peppers said. “I don’t have an explanation for it. Sometimes you get them sometimes you don’t. I can’t explain why we were able to get sacks today, we executed the game plan, we had good rushes, got good pressure inside and we just rushed from the edge and were able to get to him.”
The Bears now have seven sacks in the past two games and with a more consistent pass rush they came away with another pick six as cornerback Charles Tillman scored on a 10-yard interception return, a play that sent Arizona quarterback Ryan Lindley to the bench.
Peppers has 11 1/2 sacks and that is the most in three seasons with the Bears. He’s topped that figure only three times in his career.
“In my eyes, it’s not anything special,” he said. “It’s expected of myself, that’s the goal every year -- 10 sacks. In the grand scheme of things it’s just a small individual accomplishment, we have to win a game next week to get to where we really want.”
To win that game, they’ll need more of the same pass rush.
10. If the Bears prevail at Detroit and get the needed help with the Packers defeating the Vikings, it appears most likely they will travel to San Francisco for a wild-card game. The Packers have a leg up on the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye and they would clinch that with a win over Minnesota. That would leave the 49ers as the No. 3 seed unless they somehow stumble at home against the Cardinals, an unlikely scenario. So, if the Bears were to grab the No. 6 seed they would then play at San Francisco, where they were beat up 32-7 on Nov. 19. Stay tuned on this one.
10 a. Reserve cornerback Zack Bowman replaced Tim Jennings when the Cardinals went to “tank” personnel – two tight ends, two running backs and one wide receiver. That is because it’s a heavier package and Jennings is returning from the dislocated right shoulder. Bowman was in the right place when Beanie Wells fumbled on his own 1-yard line, falling on the ball and nudging it across the goalline for a touchdown.
“I happened to run around the corner and I was like, ‘Oh, (shoot), there goes the ball! Let me go ahead and scoop that up while I am here,’” Bowman said.
He scored a touchdown previously as a rookie but this was a special moment for him considering the time he spent out of the NFL earlier in the season.
“It’s Christmas time and it is a time of giving,” he said. “Come on, let’s be in the holiday spirit.”
Credit for the play goes to punter Adam Podlesh for a nice kick that pinned the Cardinals on their own 4-yard line. Bowman was the special teams player who downed the ball. He’s been terrific in that role since returning this season.
10 b. Olindo Mare’s 20-yard field goal attempt in the closing minutes was blocked by Adrian Wilson, which is inexcusable considering it was the equivalent of an extra point. Safety Justin Bethel recovered and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown. Wilson’s pressure came off the wing and replays seemed to indicate tight end Kellen Davis was to blame. The wing player needs to extend both arms but he should block to the inside, to close off the shortest path to the ball. We’ll see how special teams coordinator Dave Toub breaks it down later in the week.
“I can’t tell you what happened until I see it because my head is down,” Mare said. “I can’t see anything. Everything felt good from the snap, the hold, the timing. I have no idea.
“They all count. Every kick. I just try to be the same no matter whether it is a field goal, extra point, whatever.”
10 c. D.J. Moore had an Adam Podlesh punt hit off him, allowing the Cardinals to recover in the second quarter. That set up one of their two field goals.
“I didn’t see the ball,” Moore said. “I saw the returner and I was about to stop and all of a sudden I felt the ball hit my facemask.
“You just don’t know where the ball is and it happens like that. It was a tough break. It’s how this year is going for me. I was laughing, I was like, ‘Man, this has to be the worst luck in history.’ That happens.”
10 d. Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson passed Jerry Rice for the most yards in a single season in NFL history Saturday night and now he needs 108 yards on Sunday against the Bears to reach 2,000.
“The man is having a great year,” cornerback Tim Jennings said. “It is going to be tough for the next person to come in there and reach it. He’s a good football player. He is amazing to watch. Hopefully he doesn’t get 2,000, not on us. Hopefully, we can keep him under 100.”
Johnson had only three catches for 34 yards in the first meeting Oct. 22 at Soldier Field. So, it’s possible but Megatron has 100 yards or more in eight consecutive games.
10 e. Former Bears general manager Jerry Angelo has been boning up on rosters around the league, according to a source. Angelo is hoping to get back into the NFL and there could be as many as eight teams looking to hire a general manager.
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